The Damned United

A year and eight days ago Manchester United reclaimed their Premier League crown from neighbours Man. City but a season on and they finish the 2013/14 campaign without a permanent manager.

What was being described as a season of transition developed into an untenable disaster and former Everton manager David Moyes was given his marching orders after less than a year in charge. Moyes’ dismissal came two days after a resounding defeat to his old side at Goodison Park. The same venue played host to an emotional farewell to the former Blues’ favourite a year earlier. Moyes’ return to the Blue half of Merseyside was a complete contrast in atmosphere, which has sparked small debate on whether that treatment was fair.

First of all, the pulsating atmosphere created by Toffees was vital in victory; that’s absolutely certain, just as the Arsenal game.

The stance seems pretty clear on Moyes’ reception, those who played under the Scot at Everton feel that the atmosphere was unfair or a lack of respect for what he had done for the club whereas most Evertonians feel that Moyes’ greeting was justified given his actions and words towards the Toffees while United manager.

I won’t go into what has angered Blues fans and flipped an opinion on the former manager but certain disrespectful bids for players and comments are at the forefront of Everton minds.

It’s understandable that the likes of Tim Howard have said the atmosphere towards Moyes was unfair and David Weir saying that he expected his fellow Scot to get a good reception from ‘true Evertonians’.

However what hasn’t been mentioned is the fact that Moyes knew of his appointment when Sir Alex Ferguson told his successor of his retirement a week or so before it was broken to the public.

This later forced an apology out of United to the Toffees in their pursuit of Moyes, on top of the ‘derisory’ and ‘disrespectful’ joint-bid (the club’s words) for Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini when as Everton manager David Moyes was furious at similar insulting bids from Manchester City for Joleon Lescott.

Personally, I’m on the supporters’ side of the fence but pressed up against it – I might divulge that Moyes’ first full season was my first season watching football and Everton with real interest so I’ve grew up with the Scot as our manager, so I find it hard to completely reverse my feelings on Moyes and therefore I can sympathise with those who feel his treatment last week was unfair. Having said that, what happened over the summer/autumn between the three parties has near enough ruined eleven respectable years on Merseyside.